Abstract
The use of concentrated solar irradiation for the improvement of electric generation improvement has been implemented on different scales, mainly in photovoltaic systems. High-concentration Fresnel lenses are widely chosen for this approach in large installations, while low-concentration systems are rather applied in medium-low scales. For the latter, the improvement on electric performance was revealed, even when no solar tracking was implemented. The presented work aims to analyse a low-concentration photovoltaic installation by a numerical approach. First, the reflective surfaces were designed geometrically considering the optimal slope determined for each month. Subsequently, different simulation techniques were used separately for prediction of solar irradiation and energy production. Three criteria were selected to analyze power generation: the highest increase in total annual solar irradiance on panels with reflective surfaces, the highest total annual solar irradiance collected, and the optimal slope of panels for the entire year. The increase in energy was found to not exceed 10% in the winter months. Whereas in the spring and summer months the energy improvement is about 15–20%. Moreover, it was observed that the temperature of the proposed concentration photovoltaic system increased significantly, reaching more than 90 °C, while for traditional PV panels it did not exceed 75 °C.
Highlights
IntroductionThe techniques applied to achieve this goal are diverse and can be divided into two main groups: methods to increase the amount of solar radiation incident into the panels (higher power generation) and methods to thermally stabilize the panels (higher efficiency)
It can be found from the literature that the increase in solar radiation can be achieved by concentrating systems for PV (CPV) installations [1], mainly Fresnel lenses [2,3]
In the case of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) [11], the increase in temperature can even increase the risk of PV damage or accelerate the ageing effect [12]
Summary
The techniques applied to achieve this goal are diverse and can be divided into two main groups: methods to increase the amount of solar radiation incident into the panels (higher power generation) and methods to thermally stabilize the panels (higher efficiency). It can be found from the literature that the increase in solar radiation can be achieved by concentrating systems for PV (CPV) installations [1], mainly Fresnel lenses [2,3]. A spectrum of Fresnel lenses is proposed in most cases [3,4]. In the case of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) [11], the increase in temperature can even increase the risk of PV damage or accelerate the ageing effect [12]
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